If all else failed
by kitkat2150
Summary: A one-shot of if Kevin was not able to be stopped in Absolute Power and Gwen is forced to make that final decision. Bwen- hurt/comfort. Mild violence and course language.


She had finally lost control. Control of her powers, of the world, of her humanity and for some reason; instead of feeling scared she felt...intoxicated and fearless. Very fearless; like she could go against all the armies of the entire universe and not even shudder at the thought of surrender. Yes, she felt...invincible.

 _"Gwen..."_

She heard a voice calling to her. A voice so familiar, proud but quivering. It spoke to her like a friend; an old ally. Her...partner. She winced, shuddering as a rush of manner came over her, intoxicating her and wiping away any sudden thoughts of her past and drowning her in a river of power. This feeling was exhilarating; she couldn't stop. It was utterly the most alive she felt in her years of being stuck on the ground, weight of the world on her shoulders. She smiled to herself, eyes opening to the world around her. It was so beautiful. She could feel billions of living beings around her concealing the life energy flowing through their veins like blood. It felt...amazing. Her vision blurred again by the rush of power that overcame her, causing her knees to buckle as she stepped forward, hands clasping over a large mahogany tree. She could feel the beat of it's heart as it coarsed more power through it's own veins, branching off into the tips of it's fingers. She could stay here forever and just watch it's beauty beat in the raise of the storm.

" _Gwen..."_

It called again, only this time louder. Voice shaking. Why was it shaking? Was it scared? She wasn't afraid. Why should it be?

Her body rushed with more power, she fell to her knees, glowing hands touching the mud, dirt and unshaven grass beneath her. She stared up to the sky above her, noticing the crashing waves of pink and purple fade into each other, like they were battling each other. That's probably why it was so sad; tears falling from the heavens as thunderous roars screeched across the sky followed by the ever-present bolts of energy striking the ground. The sky was mad. She understood that.

She leaned back, facing forward about to get up from the puddle of mud she was currently in and reach towards the aggressive sky. Maybe, just maybe...she could calm it but as she was about to leave she felt something tug her shoulders. A weight, a type of weight. But it was light. It slung down her shoulders and rested on her back, covering her and insulating her from the cold. She turned to her side to see a boy staring back at her.

He called to her again, teeth chattering from the cold and rain that hailed down upon the two, every now and then jumping at the sudden pound of lightning that struck the ground. Yes, he was scared of thunder and lightning and he would admit it to her and only her. He had been tracking her for some time now, watching her perfect humanly shoulder's slug as her boyfriend turned away from her, leaving her to suffer alone after all her effort to save his life. She failed. She was now alone, with no place to go, except home. Expecting her to go to home to her parents and brother and explain why the house was completely torn up from the night but instead she walked into the woods, face long and riddled with pain.

He left Kevin's side to attend to her, instead of grabbing her and confronting her, he followed her into the desolate forest, being patient instead of arrogant. He watched as she took steps towards a lone tree, skin shedding to the Earth as she finally cercame to her beauty of an extraterrestrial form and he stood back, amazed at the beauty of the glow, yet it scared him. Being so out of character for the girl to just slump and leave and turn into her natural form.

"Gwen!" He grabbed her shoulders trying to grab her attention and force he to look at him. She did but her eyes always seemed so distant in this form like she was just constantly distracted by something else other than him. It made him wonder if she ever focussed in this form other than on her own energy. He sighed knowing the conversation would be useless to bring up, instead he grabbed hold of either side of his jacket laced around her slumped form and pulled it tighter so it wrapped around her much more comfortably before zipping it up to a v-neck. He frowned down at her as he noticed her finally look towards him.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you earlier, I can't imagine losing someone you love. I guess that was why I didn't want Kevin around any longer; I was so afraid that he would kill you. I couldn't live with myself if he did" He curled his right hand around her violet cheek, feeling the heat radiating from 'what was' her skin.

"I'm sorry that I didn't put your needs first, I was selfish and just wanted it to be over" He muttered, noticing her bring her hand up and push his away.

" **...I was selfish"** She mumbled in her multidimensional voice; one her's the other something evil, definitely not hers.

It took him off guard when he heard her voice; so vulnerable, so scared. She was no longer stubborn like an ox.

 **"...You were right. I was wrong and... I let my emotions get the best of me,"** She stared down at her hands clutching her palms into fists.

 **"I was stupid"** She hissed to herself, attempting to close her eyes, instead they turned into slits. He knew she would've been crying right now, if she had any tear ducts.

 **"I was so stupid,"** Gwen mumbled, hunching over in the mud.

"Beating yourself up isn't going to change anything"

 **"I know"** She held herself,

"Let me take you back to mine" He forced a smile towards her. She shook her head.

 **"I can't go back. I can't do it; I can't..."** He wrapped his arms around her shushing her and rocking her back and forward.

"It's alright, Gwen"

He listened to her whimpering trying to cry.

"I'll take care of you" He whispered into her ear.

"I'll make the pain go away"

She relaxed into him, her Antodyte form retracting and her human form engulfing her glowing body. He removed himself from her and took her back a little, keeping a gentle hold on her shoulders as he took in her depressed form: slumped shoulders, scraped cheek, ripped shirt trailed in blood and gashes with panty hoes and shirt laced in shreds and tainted red by domestic abuse. A hopeless frown was apparent on her busted lips, scratched at the top right corner. He returned a hand to her uninjured cheek hating the fact that he had allowed her boyfriend to beat her and drain her energy over and over in one night. He liked her better in her alien form just so he didn't have to face the guilt of seeing her broken form.

"Come on" He whispered in her ear. She sniffed, tears finally able to streak down her face and she looked away from him ashamed of her injuries. He removed his hand, helping her put her arms through the sleeves of his jacket as he shook from the cold and rain, but she didn't move, too numb to feel anything right now except pain. He knew that her arm was busted. He had seen the injuries earlier, the scratches shredding down her left arm and right shoulder. He zipped the jacket up to her neck so she wouldn't get cold before he wrapped an arm around her waist, helping her up.

"Let's get you cleaned up" He muttered into her ear.

* * *

They were in Ben's room together, alone and listening to the sounds of the thunder race across the sky. He shivered as he removed his shirt and placed on a knew one in an attempt to warm himself up. The car trip back had been quiet like he had expected. She was so distant and isolated for the hour long trip back and it killed him on the inside. Small conversations didn't go far with her. He was barely entertained by a few soft groans and moans that escaped her lips as the car hit a few bumps in the road aggrevating her injuries she had received from both him and her ex-boyfriend.

He turned round to his desk, placing the television and and muting the cartoons playing before he turned to his cousin resting on the bed, back against the wall, legs curled up close to her body as she stared into space.

"I have a shirt and trousers you can borrow; you must be freezing" He stared towards her noticing the slight shiver and purpled skeleton like fingers she was trying to hide.

He sighed when she didn't answer him and moved over to her, wrapping a gentle arm around her back and bringing her into a tight hug.

"Enough shuddering in silence, it's not going to fix anything"

"...I know" She muttered, blinking the tears out of her eyes. She scrunched her face using the sleeve of Ben's jacket to rub her eyes. He wrapped her closer to him trying to soothe her pain.

"I need to have a look at wounds"

"I'm fine"

"He threw you through a bunch of video game machines and drained your energy; **you're not** **fine** "

She scrunched her face thinking about the lurching shocks of stabbing pain running through her back. She sniffed, nodding knowing that her cousin was going to see her war wounds one way or another. She had no intention of going into hospital, being asked questions constantly before her folks hear about her injuries and ground her for the rest of her life. She removed herself from her cousin before pulling her hands up to her zipper trying to tug it down but her fingers were too weak to even grasp the piece of metal. Ben sighed, watching her useless attempts to accomplish such an easy task.

"Here" He pulled down the zipper before standing up. She looked away ashamed of herself. Ben didn't know what to say to her. He was scared that he would upset her. Instead of attempting to talk to her he placed the remote in her hands and asked her to pick a movie and pick out some clothes while he went to get them some hot-chocolates and something to eat.

She sighed, steadying herself as he left out the door of his room before she moved over to his wardrobe and picked out a black shirt and trousers that looked and smelled clean enough to wear. She then moved back over to the bed, grabbing the remote before flicking through the channels trying to find anything that could distract from the screams of torture running through her ears fueling her headache. Images flashed through her head of Kevin busting out from the Dominus Libiriam, destroying the containment. He immediately set his eyes on the girl swiping at the girl throwing her through the walls of the abandoned lab and burying her under a pile of rubble. Ben was quick to act turning into Jetray and zapping the monster before it could reach the wounded redhead, and leading him away from her. Cooper quickly swept in, grabbing the redhead's forearms' and picking her up as gently as he could before bringing her into a tight embrace in an effort to comfort her. But it didn't last long, not with Ben being shot out of the sky. Gwen's attention soon turned to her cousin, now in his human form on the ground, laying unconscious and in pain. Kevin was coming over, about to end her families life then and there. Tears streamed down her face as reality hit her. She had no other choice. She released the boy holding her and raced up to her cousin just as the monster was ready to rip him to shreds.

"I'm finally going to put an end to your miserable life, Tennyson" The monster hissed as it raised it's claw.

 **"STOP!"** Her voice lept like a desperate roar attempting to scare away any preditors that may harm her family. Kevin froze noticing her form, finally violet and radiating with such power. It was irrisistable.

"Going to beg me to spare your cousin, Gwen? Should be more worried about yourself right now" He learched forward ready to drain her of her life. She took a sharp breathe in summoning her powers, delivering the final blow. He screamed in agony, the power of the spell draining him of all life and returning the energy to it's previous owners. In the switch, Kevin's body would not survive, only a smoldering heap that was Kevin E. Levin. Ben looked up at her calling her name as she stared star-struck by what she had done.

 _"You...saved me!"_ Ben whispered towards her, relieved his cousin had finally come to her senses, but instead of acknowledging him or their grandfather or the aliens that surrounded them, or Cooper, she walked off; disgusted by herself that she had actually taken someone's life; his life. She didn't know how she would live with herself until a pair of hands placed weight on her shoulder's and called to her in such a loving yet scared tone. She looked up, realising that she was currently in Ben's room with the boy currently looking up at her as he bent down on one knee shaking her and squeezing her shoulder's to try and wake her up from her exhaustion infused nightmare.

"Ben...!" She whispered his name as her eyes shut and she slumped into his arms.

"It's okay, I'm here" He shushed her as she relaxed into his arms. She enjoyed the embrace of having him there, even if it was for a few seconds before he stood, first aid box in one hand, a towel in the other.

"Can I please see your wounds?" He asked. She bit her lip, hunching over as she stared into his bright green eyes. She couldn't deny him at this point. He wouldn't take no for an answer.

* * *

She was slow at first, peeling off her shirt and stockings before she noticed her shoes no longer on her feet, concluding that they fell off on the walk back to Ben's car. She remembered stacking it a few times before Ben decided to sweep her off her feet and carry her the rest of the way. She put up little argument at the fact which was probably why Ben was so worried about her right now. A large pair of scissors came out and cut through her sleeves of her sweater and blouse. Then came off in rapid-succession before he wrapped a towel around her and began to address her wounds being sure to clean out the large scratches covering her feet, legs and thighs before making his way up to her stomach which she was currently holding. He looked up at her noticing her closed, bruised eyes attempting to conceal tears as she clung onto the towel in her small, delicate hands.

"Do you want a bath?" He asked her, noticing the dirtied state of her body. She just nodded allowing him to move off to the bath and turn the taps on to a warm setting as she rested her head against the sink and stared up towards the dancing light above her. She didn't know how long she was staring at it until she was lifted up and brought into a bath of bubbles and water, warming her goose-bump riddled body up and helping her to relax a little more. She winced her eyes as the water attacked her wounds, cleaning them out as she rested her bruised back on the ceramic. Only a few grunts and groans escaped her lips and she finally rested into a comfortable position.

He removed a flannel and gently washed her wounds out being careful not to cause her any harm as she slept peacefully. He couldn't help but feel sorry for his cousin knowing that she had failed miserably at something she fought for so valientely. He always got the happy ending. He got things his way and allowed her to suffer in silence. That, he didn't know how to deal with. It should've been him that removed Kevin from this world, instead it had to be her. Out of everyone. He just wanted to make her happy as much as he could but it was hard to cheer her up, afraid that she might take it the wrong way and storm off. In her condition, it would be a horrible mistake and he couldn't track her.

"I got you a hot-coco in my room with some ice-cream and chocolate; I'll even make you some chicken soup" He brushed her cheeked.

She moaned.

He smiled.

"We'll sit down and binge watch Game of Thrones" She opened her eyes arching her eyebrow. He immediately noticed his mistake.

"Or...you know, something happy like, Parks and Rec?" He muttered towards her. He noticed her forced smirk trying to be happy; at least for her cousin but it failed miserably.

"I know how much you like that show. You know it's either that or some documentaries" He rolled his eyes, not wanting to watch any documentaries but he would do it for her. He ran a damp cloth over her cheeks and forehead being careful not to harm her. He was trying to be as gentle as possible with her, listening to her moans as he touched her skin. He enjoyed hearing her, loving the sound, like music to his ears. He ran the cloth down her scratched and slashed shoulders and upper arms before moving down to her legs, making sure he removed all the dirt off her body as she rested.

"Do you want any pain killers?"

She nodded, wincing her eyes as he checked her hair for any strands of blood, staining her orange hair. Luckily, there was just dirt. He stood up grabbing a towel as she lifted herself out of the bath and onto the mat. He ran a towel over her body before cleaning out the rest of the wounds, wrapping them in gauze cloth and grabbing the spare clothes, helping her into them. He was exhausted but she didn't have his powers ripped from his body in an extremely painful manner.

"Hands up" He smiled towards her as he placed a hand on her back and thighs. He lifted her into his arm, holding her close and he carried her back to his room placing her down on his bed and tucking her under the covers.

"Comfy?" He asked before passing her the pain killers and hot chocolate drink. She nodded quietly thanking him before he moved himself under the covers and snuggled up close to her letting her rest her head on his chest. He sunk into her, wrapping an arm round her waist and letting her lean on him for support both physically and mentally. She was exhausted to shreds and so was he but he needed to stay awake; at least until she fell into a soft, gentle slumber. He gently thumbed her cheek being as gentle as possible with her as he listened to her moan. He smiled before noticing a phone vibrating on the side. He turned, looking over to a pink nokia buzzing on the table. He grabbed it noticing the name 'mum' on the cracked screen. He looked down at her noticing that she was already asleep. He would have to deal with her folks.

"Hey Aunt Saundra!" Ben whispered into the phone being careful not to wake her up.

"Ben! Is that you?"

"Yeah,"

"Is Gwen with you? She hasn't answered any of my calls and the house is a complete mess" She hyperventilated.

"Gwen's fine, she's sleeping right now. We had some trouble with Kevin; I'll tell you about it tomorrow. Gwen's going to stay round mine for the night"

He sighed thinking about her aunt and uncle completely worried to shreds.

"...Is she injured?"

"A little, nothing too serious just a few scraps. She just needs rest"

"Okay, will you please ask her to call me as soon as she is awake?'

"Of course aunt Lily" Ben lied as he kept his voice a whisper.

"Thank you Ben,"

"No problem, Lily"

The phone went dead. Actually Ben pressed down on the red button not interested in on explaining himself for a night like this. It was tedious in his mind. Though, it may be from his exhaustion. He leaned back on the wall, grabbing the remote and setting it to a low volume as he watched Sumo-slammers on the television. Throwing the remote to the side, he rested his hand on the girl's forehead unconsciously running his hand through her hair, caressing her and comforting her as much as possible in hope that she wouldn't have nightmares. Or wake up and he'd be asleep and she'd walk out the door and leave. Maybe even run awake. He took a sip of his hot chocolate trying to keep awake as much as possible. It would be a nightmare if she left. No, he needed to stay awake. At least for her. He touched her cheek, grazing it lightly with the tip of his fingers. He grabbed her hand, holding it tightly. He kissed her hand before rubbing it and turning back to the t-v. After a few hours Ben was almost asleep, head continuing to nod back and forward. He sighed stretching his back before he noticed her. Eyes wincing head turning, sweat rolling down her pale face. She was trapped in a nightmare. He could hear her whimpering in pain. He sighed, just squeezing her hand. She breathed out, wincing her eyes before fluttering her eyes.

She hissed, holding her head and sitting up.

"Oh god, I feel like I've been hit by a frieght train" She winced her eyes. He placed a hand on her back.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just...what happened?" Images flashed through her head.

"...Oh yeah. I remember" She shook her head before leaning back mentally kicking herself. She thought it was just a nightmare. A horrible nightmare. He shook her head feeling sick.

"I can't believe this. I'm going to have to speak to Kevin's mum and beg her to forgive me. What time is it?"

"I think Grandpa should speak to her and it's almost seven in the morning. You should get some more sleep"

"I can't sleep"

"You should"

"I keep having nightmares"

He was silent not knowing what to do. What to tell her. He loved her. He wanted to be with her. He wanted to hold her so tightly right now and ring her out of all the stress in her life. He wanted her to be happy.

"I'll stay with you and I'll wake you up if you start having nightmares"

She shook her head.

"You should get some sleep" She mumbled. He kissed her forehead.

"You need it more" He wrapped the blanket around her body.

"Thank you" She leaned partially against the wall and partially against him.

She sighed as she leaned against his shoulder thinking of everything that was next to come. All the interviews and forgiveness she would have to beg from people.

"What happens now?" She mumbled staring at the television. He stared down at her knowing all the hell that they would have to endure as a result of Kevin Levin's power crazed fit. He shook his head wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Well, we don't have to move just yet" He mumbled into her ear. She smiled liking the idea of not moving from the bed.

She just wanted to stay here forever and not move.

"Sounds like a plan" She leaned against him feeling his heart beat pulse against her ear. She grabbed hold of his shirt as he turned the television up blocking out the sounds of their doubt. He knew Max would be knocking round soon to speak to them but until then they would remain as comfortable as possible shielding themselves from the rest of the world and it's stressors.

* * *

Didn't really know how to end this one but it's just a one-shot of how things could've ended. Don't forget to review.


End file.
